Let's start at the very beginning...

Hi everyone!  *waves while trying not to look sheepish*

I hope all of you are doing well.  This has been a crazy fall here in my real life, so I sincerely apologize for the lack of posting.  We went on vacation right after my last post, and then we all came down with a horrible chest cold that I am still battling today (I think we keep passing it around, but I think it's coming to an end... thank goodness).  Then my grandmother passed away at the beginning of November and now my daddy is in the hospital and will be having bypass surgery within the next few days.  *sigh*

Needless to say, my mind and heart really haven't been in blogging.  Plus, my "to review" box is getting getting fuller and fuller which has a tendency to shut me down, rather than lighting a fire under my slacker ass.  Plus, I had chopped my nails down to nubs a few weeks ago and they had just got back to the point where it wasn't a pain in the ass to paint them.  My plan was to get back to blogging soon and then I did a total dumbass thing and nicked my nail while trying to clip them.

So I figured I could either neglect this blog for another 2-3 weeks and get even further behind, or I could use it to see if I could take my nails from the short, misshapen, raggedy messes they are, to healthy nails within the next few weeks.  As a thank you for helping to promote their Facebook contest, Barielle sent me a package including several nail treatments, so I figured this was a good time to try them out.

Here is a picture I took about 15 minutes ago.

You can see the nick in my ring finger nail.  You can also see my raggedy ass cuticles.  LOL.  So, over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and repair my nails and cuticles and I'm showing you all the process. 

I used the nail cream last night before bed and today, I used the protein.  I will be sure to keep you updated on my progress.  

Products were sent to me by Barielle

N/KOTD: Orly Goth (with Misa Got to be Real)

For the longest time (okay, maybe a couple of months.  LOL), I lemmed Dior Black Sequins.  The concept just seemed so awesome... black polish with silver glitter.  I saw it on Sephora over the holidays and then by the time I'd worked up the nerve to spend $20 on a polish, it was sold out.  I consoled myself by reading reviews stating that it was a bit underwhelming, but I still wanted the look.

Enter Orly Goth.  I'm almost certain Goth is in Orly's regular line up.  Or, if it's not, it's around enough in special collections (like Halloween and the current one at Sally's w/ Beyonce on the ad) that you can certainly pick it up.  Also, it's usually less than $5, especially from an e-tailer. 

.......drumroll.........

Swoon.  I swear, I want to marry this polish and have it's babies.  I love it that much.  In fact, I usually change my polish everyday or every other day, and I've had this one on since Saturday morning and honestly, it's not going anywhere for at least another day (I did add a konad, but more on that in a minute).  This was one regular coat and one thin coat to even out a couple thin spots.  The application was perfect.  The formula was great.  :) 

For anyone that was looking at Dior Black Sequins, you may want to seriously consider picking up Goth.  Sure, it's not HE, but it's truly amazing.  It's multi-sized, round, silver glitter suspended in a black jelly-ish polish.  It's not a true jelly as you can make it opaque pretty quickly, but it does have jelly qualities.  The best part?  The glitter does not get lost in the black polish.  There's also a uniform randomness to it.  I guess that sounds ridiculous, but unlike some other polishes *cough* Funky Chunky *cough*, you don't get a little bit of glitter here and a little bit of glitter there.  There are places that have more and places that have less, but your entire nail is convered with a smattering of silver glitter.  I know Essie SSN is supposed to mimic a night sky, but this one truly reminds me of the sky at night.  Pitch black with shimmers of silver.  Sigh.  I think this has got to be the sexiest polish I own.

Also, like I mentioned, I added a konad, as yesterday was Valentine's Day (happy belated Valentine's Day, btw).  I had shows all weekend, so I didn't get a chance to switch to red, so I did the best I could w/ Goth.  I think it turned out amazing, if I do say so myself.  :P

This is plate m73 and I used Misa Got to be Real for the silver.  I am totally in love with this mani.  Pardon the pun.  LOL. 

PS- Here's a bonus pic of my nails now.  I know a few people were interested in seeing them w/o polish.  I think it's been 12-13 weeks since I removed my glue-ons.  It's still going to take a little bit of time to totally un-do the damage, but I think they look pretty dang good.  :)